Quoting in order to mislead

Discovery Institute Quote-Mines Eugenie Scott:
[Via The Sensuous Curmudgeon]

THE neo-theocrats at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture (a/k/a the Discoveroids) have really done it this time. The title of their latest blog article is literally a description of their “science.” They’ve conveniently called it Pure Dogma.

The article is very short, so we’ll break up some of the paragraphs in order to add the necessary Curmudgeonly commentary. The bold font was added by us:

Once upon a time scientists were supposed to be skeptical. Scientific theories, we were taught, were to be questioned. Yes scientists were to formulate theories, but they were also to search for evidence against theories, even their own.

That’s what tests and experiments are all about. It’s still being done, all the time, not just “once upon a time.” But it’s never done by those who engage in creation science. It’s difficult to test the supernatural interventions of the Designer. The paragraph continues:

And while such a noble action as searching for problems with one’s own theory might be too much to ask, certainly scientists were never to protect a theory against contradictory evidence or mislead the public. That would be the ultimate scientific sell out. Scientists were to be objective, and to follow the evidence where ever it may lead.

[More]

Deniers often misquote someone in order to mislead. with the ease of tracking down information on the Internet, this only works on people too lazy or too stupid to check things out.

That is why it is so funny when they attempt science, because research, such as accurately quoting a source, is usually a massive fail for them.

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